End fastening for wire rope



March 28, 1939. I J BURKE 2,151,837

END FASTENING FOR WIRE ROPE Filed Aug. 30, 1937 FIG; 1.

all!!! JOHN J055PH BURKE, I

FWMM $3 K fameys.

Patented Mar. '28, 1939 END' FASTENING FOR WIRE noes John Joseph Burke, New Haven, Conn, assignor to The American Steel and Wire Company of New Jersey, a corporation of New Jersey Application August 30, 1937, Serial No. 161,704

8 Claims. 7 (01. 24-115) This invention relates to. end fastenings for wire rope, and particularly to an improved fasten-- ing device for attaching the end of a wire leveling rope to a drum-like reel, as used on road scrapers.

In some types of road scrapers it is customary to drag a number of wire ropes behind the scraper for the purpose of leveling the ground after it hasbeen scraped. These ropes are usually wound on a plurality of drums or reels, and as the end of the rope wears off it is periodically paid off the drums or reels to the proper length,

for working purposes. The wire rope is, of course, wound around the drums or reels and, so long as there is' a sufficient length of rope on the same, the frictional contact between the coils will serve to. hold the rope during the scraping. operation; that is, provided the reel is kept from. uncoiling; But, when the entire length of ropeis uncoiled from the reel, the end of .the rope mustthen be held to the. drum in some manner,

and it is to this that my invention refers.

It is desirable to have the end of the rope attached to the end of the reel so that it can be easily removed therefrom after it is worn out and has served its purpose and a new coil of wire rope placed thereon. Therefore, it is desirable to provide an end fastening for the rope which can be easily and securely attached thereto and which can be conveniently detached therefrom. This end fastening must be inexpensive and at the same time simple to apply to both the rope and to the drum.

It is, therefore, the object of my invention to provide'an end fastening for wire rope especially adaptable to road scrapers which has all the above advantages, is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use.

Various other objects and advantages of this invention will be more apparent in the course of the following specification and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing there is shown for the purpose of illustration, one embodiment and a modification thereof which my invention may assume in practice:

Figure 1 is a plan view showing my improved type rope attaching device.

Figure 2 is a sectional view through a portion of a drum showing the device of my invention in position.

Figures 3 and 311 show a plan view and an end viewrespectively of my rope 'attaching device unattached to the rope.

Figure 4 is a side elevation view of a modified form of rope attaching device.

Figure 5 is an end view of the showing of Figure 4.

In the drawing, I have shown a plate-like end fastening member having an enlarged base portion 5 and a main upwardly extending part 6 carrying a beak-like portion 1. This plate-like end fastening is preferably made from sheet metal but can be made, of course, from any suitable material. The beak-like extending portion is adapted to project axially into the end of a wire rope 8, as shown in Figure 2.

The wire rope is securely held thereon, preferably by s'everal turns of wire 9 which are Wrapped around the rope adjacent the end thereof. This need not necessarily be a wire, but may be any suitable holding'device, such as a clamp or metal sleeve. The wire rope is also attached to the main extending part 6 of the end fastening by means of brazing or welding III. The end fastening,

together with the rope, is now ready for attach-' ment to a drum-like reel, such as shown at H in Figure 2.

The drum ll,-as shown, is the type commonly used in connection with road scrapers to hold' the coils of wire leveling-rope. This drum has a longitudinally extending slot l2 in the periphery and along one side thereof, and is of such length and size as to receive the base portion of the end fastening. The end fastening is inserted in the 'slot l2 of a drum, as shown in Figures 1 and 2,

and is turned after insertion to substantially right angles to the plane of insertion to lock the base of the same therein. This, in turn, holds the end of the rope in place and the wire rope can be used until the entire length is worn to a minimum length, after which it can be easily replaced by another coil of wire rope having a similar end fastening, and the other wire ropes changed accordingly, from time to time, as they wear out.

In Figures 4 and 5 there is shown a modified form of end fastening for wire ropes in connection with my invention. This end fastening has a sleeve-like elbow or arcuate-shaped portion l3 and an enlarged wedge-shaped base portion I l. The sleeve-like portion I3 is frictionally clamped around the end of the rope to hold it therein and is preferably further secured therein by means of welding H5 at the end of the sleeve. This type of end fastening is adapted to be detachably secured to the drum in a manner similar to the other, as described above.

While I have in this application specifically 7 described one embodiment and a modification thereof which my invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that these embodiments are merely for the purpose of illustration and description and that various other forms may be devised within the scope of my invention, as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Means for attaching the end of a rope to a reel comprising a member having an enlarged wedge-shaped base portion for detachable engagement with said reel, and an upper arcuateshaped sleeve-like portion for holding the end of the rope securely therein.

2. Means for attaching the end of a rope to a reel comprising a relatively thin flat plate-like member having an enlarged base portion for detachable engagement with said reel and an upper beak-like extending portion for longitudinal insertion into the end of the rope, and means for holding the rope thereon.

3. Means for attaching the end of a rope to a reel comprising a member having an enlarged wedge-shaped base portion for detachable engagement with said reel and an upper arcuateshaped sleeve-like extending portion for holdingthe end of the rope, the extreme end of the rope being attached to the sleeve at the end thereof below the base portion by means of welding.

4. Means for attaching the end of a rope to a reel'comprising a flat plate-like member having an enlarged base portion for detachable engagement with said reel and an upper extending part having a beak-like portion for longitudinal insertion into the end of said rope, and a wire wrapped'aroundthe rope adjacent the end thereof to securely seize and hold the same on said beakdike portion.

5. Means for attaching the end of a rope to a reel comprising a flat plate-like member having an enlarged base portion for detachable engagement with said reel and an upper extending part having a beak-like portion for longitudinal insertion into the end of said rope, a wire wrapped around the rope adjacent the end thereof to securely seize and hold the same on said beak-like portion, and the extreme end of said rope attached to the main portion of said upper extending part of the member by means of welding.

6. A fastening device for attaching the end of a wire leveling rope to the drum-like reel of a road scraper, said device comprising a relatively thin flat plate-like member having an enlarged base portion for insertion in a slot in said reel and an upper extending part having a beak-like portion for longitudinal insertion into the end of said rope, and means arranged around said same adjacent the end thereof for holding the rope onto said beak-like portion with the end of said rope being attached to the main portion of said extending part by means of welding. '7. Means for attaching the end of a rope to a reel comprising a relatively thin flat plate-like member having substantially a wide base portion for detachable engagement with a slot in the periphery of said reel, a body portion extending upwardly centrally of said base portion, a beaklike portion extending outwardly from the upper end of said body portion, said beak-like portion adapted to be inserted longitudinally into the end of said rope, and means for holding said rope securely on said beak-like portion.

8. Means for attaching the end of a rope and the like to a reel comprising a member consisting of an enlarged Wedge-shaped base portion for detachable engagement with the reel, an upwardly and outwardly extending portion to which the end of the rope is adapted to be attached, and means for holding said rope in engagement therewith.

JOHN JOSEPH BURKE. 

